Back Pain After a Car Accident? Know What to Watch For

Back Pain After a Crash: Why It Can Start Later Than You Expect

Back pain after a car accident can come from several possible injuries, and it doesn’t always start right away. Some people feel it at the scene. Others notice it hours or days later, once the adrenaline wears off and they start moving again.

If you are asking, why does my back hurt after a car accident, you are not alone. The question is frightening. Many people don’t know whether the pain comes from the crash or from something else. Only a medical provider can answer that for a particular person.

This page is educational. It doesn’t diagnose anyone, and it can’t tell you what caused your pain. It explains the possible injuries, the warning signs that call for prompt care, and how medical records and insurance questions fit in. For the wider picture of crash injuries, see the firm’s wrongful death and car and truck accident resources.

Areas of the Back and Neck Where Pain Is Reported After a Crash

Pain after a crash can show up in the neck, the upper back, the lower back, or several of these areas at once. The neck sits at the top of the spine. The upper back runs down past the shoulder blades. The lower back sits above the hips. Each area has muscles, ligaments, discs and joints.

Many readers ask about the lower back, so it gets its own focus here. Still, the location of pain alone doesn’t show the cause. A sore lower back could come from a muscle, a disc, a joint or a bone. Sorting that out takes a medical exam, and sometimes imaging.

The type of crash doesn’t decide the pattern of pain either. A rear-end impact, a side impact and a collision with a large truck can each lead to back pain. The crash type alone doesn’t show what was hurt. Pain can also travel into the buttocks or legs, and that spread is covered in a later section.

Possible Injuries That Can Cause Back Pain

Possible injuries behind back pain include muscle strains, ligament sprains, herniated discs, facet joint problems and spinal fractures. Only a medical provider can tell which, if any, applies to a given person.

A muscle strain is a stretched or torn muscle. A sprain is an injury to a ligament, the tissue that connects bones at a joint. A herniated disc means a disc between the spinal bones has pushed out of its normal place. Facet joints are small joints along the back of the spine, and problems there can cause pain. A spinal fracture is a crack or break in a bone of the spine.

Some injuries reach the spinal cord, the bundle of nerves that runs through the spine. A spinal cord injury is serious and needs prompt medical evaluation. The firm’s page on spinal cord injury after a car accident covers that topic in more detail.

Symptoms That Call for Prompt Medical Evaluation

Sudden, severe or fast-worsening symptoms need emergency care right away. Don’t wait for a phone call from an insurer or for a claim to be sorted out before getting checked. Your health comes first.

Pain that lasts or keeps getting worse also deserves a provider’s attention, even when it feels mild. Tell the provider about the crash, even if the crash seems minor to you. The details help the provider understand your symptoms.

How Doctors Evaluate Back Pain After a Car Accident

A medical provider usually starts by asking what happened, where it hurts and when symptoms began.

Imaging, such as X-rays, may be ordered when the provider thinks it’s needed. For more on that topic, read X-ray questions after a car accident.

Keep a simple written record. Note your symptoms, when they started, how they change and the dates of your visits. Write down any medicine you take and the advice you receive. Bring that record to each appointment. It helps you and your provider follow your health over time, and it’s a personal health practice, not a legal strategy.

Medical Bills, Insurance Questions and Your Records

Medical bills and insurance questions often come up after a crash. Many people wonder whether an insurer will pay a provider directly. For more on that question, read car insurance and medical bills.

Keep copies of medical records, bills and appointment notes. Save photos of the scene and the vehicles, and write down names of anyone who saw the crash. Store everything in one folder or one file on your phone. Organized papers make it easier to answer questions later.

Fault can also come up in insurance talks. Virginia follows contributory negligence: if you are found even partly at fault, you may be barred from recovering, with limited exceptions. Talk to a lawyer about your facts. For the Court of Appeals’ description of this defense, see Williams v. Harrison, 255 Va. 272 (1998).

When It May Be Worth Discussing Your Situation With a Lawyer

You may wish to talk with a lawyer if back pain lasts after a crash, if a family member was hurt, or if you aren’t sure what happens next. A lawyer can review the facts of your particular situation.

Virginia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)); the clock runs from the date of injury, not the date of discovery, with narrow exceptions. Some claims carry notice requirements that run out sooner. Va. Code § 8.01-243(A) provides that, unless otherwise provided in this section or by other statute, every action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.